Adelson fights prostitution claims

Casino magnate and Republican mega-donor Sheldon Adelson is pushing back against allegations that he approved of prostitution at one of his casinos in China, filing a new strongly worded legal brief and threatening to file a libel suit against the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

In the brief filed Tuesday night in Las Vegas, Adelson’s lawyers call the lawsuit by former employee Steven Jacobs a “new low” in an effort to tarnish Adelson’s reputation and draw media attention.

“Mr. Adelson regards prostitution as morally abhorrent. In his business, Mr. Adelson has consistently opposed allowing prostitution on any of his properties, regardless of any financial calculations,” the brief states. “The notion that Mr. Adelson would approve a ‘prostitution strategy’ is as insulting as it is absurd.”

Adelson’s lawyers are also going after the DCCC, on Monday threatening a libel suit against the organization and DCCC national press secretary Jesse Ferguson.

The letter, first reported by Las Vegas Sun reporter Jon Ralston,claims that the DCCC “repeated and exaggerated these outrageous charges.” It also demands that the DCCC retract the claims, apologize for them, and retain any documents associated with them in preparation for a potential lawsuit.

In a June 29 blog, the DCCC cited an Associated Press article about the suit under the headline: “Breaking: House Republicans’ Biggest Donor Approved ‘Prostitution Strategy in China.”

And in a July 2 post, the DCCC wrote that “Foreign Chinese prostitution money is allegedly behind the groups funding the Republican Majority.”

In a statement Tuesday, Ferguson said that the DCCC is reviewing Adelson’s attorney’s letter.

Adelson, the chairman and CEO of the Las Vegas Sands Corporation and chairman of the board of Sands China Limited, is being sued for wrongful termination by Jacobs, who has also suggested that Adelson approved of prostitution at the China property for financial reasons. Jacobs, who was CEO of the Sands China subsidiary, was fired by Adelson in 2010.

In a rare interview with Forbes last week, Adelson called the charges “outrageous.”

“I’m going through right to the end. It’s the only way I can prove unquestionably that everything he said was wrong,” Adelson said. “If I settle the case then people would say, ‘He settled because there was evidence that would come out to show he truly was a criminal and truly had a prostitution strategy.’ … When the time comes I’ll extract what’s due.”